Merge Records

The Hopscotch Festival begins September 6 in Raleigh, NC. Included in the impressive festival line-up is Lambchop, who will perform at the lovely Fletcher Opera Theater on Saturday, September 8.

Today, Hopscotch premiered a video of Kurt Wagner of Lambchop performing “Buttons,” a track from the band’s latest album Mr. M, at Carrboro’s Friendly Barber Shop during XX Merge.

Watch Lambchop perform “Buttons” at Friendly Barber Shop


Visit Hopscotchmusicfest.com for ticket information and the full list of bands performing at this year’s festival. Merge bands include Pipe, Versus, Mac McCaughan, the Mountain Goats, Lambchop, the Love Language, Shark Quest, Wye Oak & Flock of Dimes.

Merge Records will also host a free listening party at Foundation from 4-6pm on Friday, September 7. Drop in to hear our new & upcoming fall releases and to sample the always-delicious signature cocktail concocted by the Foundation bartenders. We’ll have lots of fun stuff to give away, too! Find music from all of our Hopscotch artists and more in the Merge store.

Lambchop‘s version of the Squidbillies theme song will air on Adult Swim this Sunday night at 12:15 AM. Lambchop’s take features a string quartet and pianist Tony Crow’s son as a soloist on violin. Watch video below of the opening credits with Lambchop’s version as well as an interview with Kurt about their approach to covering the song.

Lambchop will perform at the Hopscotch Festival in Raleigh, NC on September 8. Find their latest release Mr. M as well as the full Lambchop catalog now in the Merge store.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Visit iTunes to download the new Merge Spring sampler! Featuring songs from our recent releases as well as a song from our forthcoming reissue of Sugar’s Copper Blue, the sampler makes a great mixtape for your spring BBQ all for the low price of $2.99.

Visit iTunes to download Merge Records Spring Sampler 2012 now

Visit the Merge store to find full-length albums from these artists, and bookmark our SoundCloud page where we are adding new songs all the time!

Track list:
1.  The Magnetic Fields “Andrew in Drag”
2.  Sugar “A Good Idea”
3.  Times New Viking “Try Harder”
4.  Eleanor Friedberger “Heaven”
5.  The Rosebuds “Second Bird of Paradise”
6.  Archers of Loaf “Dead Red Eyes”
7.  Wild Flag “Electric Band”
8.  Imperial Teen “Out from Inside”
9.  Hospitality “Friends of Friends”
10.  M. Ward “The First Time I Ran Away”
11.  Stephin Merritt “Forever and a Day”
12.  Lambchop “Gone Tomorrow”
13.  Crooked Fingers “Heavy Hours”

Tune in to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight to see Lambchop perform on TV for the first time since 2004!

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon airs beginning at 12:35 ET on NBC. Other guests include Bill Hader and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Also, check out the series of video interviews for each song on Mr. M at the Merge YouTube page.

Order Mr. M now on CD or limited-edition dbl-LP in the Merge store. Find Lambchop on Twitter, Facebook, and at Lambchop.net.

Lambchop are guest editors at MagnetMagazine.com this week and in addition to sharing a few of their favorite things, they are premiering a series of interviews with Kurt Wagner about each song on Mr. M. Check back all week for new videos and more at MagnetMagazine.com.

Read the Q&A launching Lambchop’s week as guest editors at MagnetMagazine.com

Last week, Lambchop premiered the new video for “2b2″ at Slate.com. Featuring footage from the recent European tour, the video captures the excitement of the live Lambchop experience.

Watch “2b2″ now via YouTube


Also, be sure to check out the fantastic interview with Kurt Wagner for Pitchfork’s 5-10-15-20 feature. Kurt discusses albums that were important to him at different ages and some pretty great stories emerge.

Read Kurt Wagner’s 5-10-15-20 feature at Pitchfork.com

“Kurt Wagner and co.’s masterful 11th album is one of the best to emerge from their strange, modest universe.” ~Pitchfork, Best New Music

“The best American songwriter working today.” ~Salon.com

Order Mr. M now on CD or limited-edition dbl-LP in the Merge store.

Find Lambchop on Twitter, Facebook, and at Lambchop.net.

Lambchop on tour:
Apr 17 Boston, MA – Paradise
Apr 18 Philadelphia, PA – World Café Live
Apr 19 New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge w/ Charlie Horse
Apr 20 Brooklyn, NY – The Bell House
Apr 21 Pittsburgh, PA – Club Café
Apr 22 Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
Apr 23 Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark
Apr 24 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
Apr 25 Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
Apr 26 Minneapolis, MN – The Dakota
Apr 27 Omaha, NE – The Slowdown
Apr 28 Boulder, CO – The Fox Theatre
Apr 29 Salt Lake City, UT – The State Room
May 01 Seattle, WA – The Tractor Tavern
May 02 Portland, OR – Doug Fir
May 04 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
May 05 Santa Monica, CA – McCabe’s Guitar Shop (early show: doors at 7pm, show at 8pm)
May 05 Santa Monica, CA – McCabe’s Guitar Shop (late show: doors at 9:30pm, show at 10pm)
May 06 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
May 08 Dallas, TX – Club DaDa
May 09 Austin, TX – The Cactus
May 11 Birmingham, AL – Secret Stages
May 12 Nashville, TN – VFW Post 1970

Lambchop‘s Mr. M will be in stores on February 21, but NPR is streaming the full album now at NPR Music. Also, see the new video for “Gone Tomorrow” featuring underground Nashville wrestlers at NPR’s All Songs Considered blog.

Of Mr. M, NPR says:

But, for an album that once bore the working title Major League Bummer, Mr. M isn’t mournful so much as winsome; it’s no accident of sequencing that it winds to a close with a redemption song as generous and giant-hearted as “Never My Love.” Amid softly plucked acoustic guitars and sweet strings, that song is so direct in its hopefulness and gratitude, it almost sounds as if Wagner is covering Don Williams again. But it’s just the sound of a downcast dreamer who, nearly 20 years into his career with Lambchop, is just beginning to find what he’s wanted all along.

Listen to Lambchop’s Mr. M now at NPR Music

NPR premiered the new video for “Gone Tomorrow” featuring scenes from the underground wrestling scene in Nashville. Director Zach Spiger and Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner offer the story behind the video as well. Read the story and watch the video at the All Songs Considered blog.

Watch the video for “Gone Tomorrow”

Mr. M is available for pre-order on CD and dbl-LP now in the Merge store.

Lambchop US tour:
Apr 13 Asheville, NC The Grey Eagle
Apr 14 Durham, NC Motorco
Apr 15 Arlington, VA IOTA
Apr 16 Annapolis, MD Ram’s Head
Apr 17 Boston, MA Paradise
Apr 18 Philadelphia, PA World Café Live
Apr 19 New York, NY Le Poisson Rouge
Apr 20 Brooklyn, NY The Bell House
Apr 21 Pittsburgh, PA Club Café
Apr 22 Cleveland, OH The Beachland Ballroom
Apr 23 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark
Apr 24 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
Apr 25 Madison, WI High Noon Saloon
Apr 26 Minneapolis, MN The Dakota
Apr 27 Omaha, NE The Slowdown
Apr 28 Boulder, CO The Fox Theatre
May 01 Seattle, WA The Tractor Tavern
May 02 Portland, OR Doug Fir
May 04 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
May 05 Santa Monica, CA McCabe’s
May 06 Tucson, AZ Club Congress
May 08 Dallas, TX TBA
May 09 Austin, TX The Cactus
May 11 Birmingham, AL Secret Stages
May 12 Nashville TN TBA

 

Lambchop will release Mr. M on February 21 and we are excited to announce their US tour beginning April 13 in Asheville and ending May 12 in Nashville!

A full list of dates as well as links to purchase tickets are included below, and be sure to visit the Merge tour page for updates.

It’s been nearly two decades since Lambchop released its first album, at the time pronouncing itself “Nashville’s most fucked-up country band.” Provocative it may have been, but the description made sense: at the heart of all that ruckus was a band at once defying and embracing the musical legacy of its hometown. Since then, Lambchop has evolved into an accomplished ensemble, adding palpable depth and substance to singer-songwriter-guitarist Kurt Wagner’s songs—and the band sounds as commanding as ever on its 11th album, Mr. M, a collection of meditations on love and loss and the detritus of everyday existence.

Pre-order Mr. M now on CD or limited-edition dbl-LP in the Merge store to receive a poster (the first 150 of which will be signed!) featuring Kurt Wagner’s original paintings used in Mr. M‘s liner notes and a Lambchop coin purse while supplies last.

Visit the Merge blog to watch an album trailer for Mr. M, too!

Lambchop – Gone Tomorrow by Merge Records

Lambchop US tour:
Apr 13 Asheville, NC The Grey Eagle
Apr 14 Durham, NC Motorco
Apr 15 Arlington, VA IOTA
Apr 16 Annapolis, MD Ram’s Head
Apr 17 Boston, MA Paradise
Apr 18 Philadelphia, PA World Café Live
Apr 19 New York, NY Le Poisson Rouge
Apr 21 Pittsburgh, PA Club Café
Apr 22 Cleveland, OH The Beachland Ballroom
Apr 23 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark
Apr 24 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
Apr 25 Madison, WI High Noon Saloon
Apr 26 Minneapolis, MN The Dakota
Apr 27 Omaha, NE TBA
Apr 28 Boulder, CO The Fox Theatre
May 01 Seattle, WA The Tractor Tavern
May 02 Portland, OR Doug Fir
May 04 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
May 05 Santa Monica, CA McCabe’s
May 06 Tucson, AZ TBA
May 08 Dallas, TX TBA
May 09 Austin, TX The Cactus
May 11 Birmingham, AL Secret Stages
May 12 Nashville TN TBA

Find Lambchop on Twitter, Facebook, and at Lambchop.net.

Lambchop premiered “Gone Tomorrow” from their forthcoming new album Mr. M on NPR’s All Songs Considered podcast today. Listen to the All Songs Considered podcast now or hear the track below via Merge’s SoundCloud page.

Lambchop – Gone Tomorrow by Merge Records

Pre-order Mr. M now on CD or limited-edition dbl-LP in the Merge store to receive a poster (the first 150 of which will be signed!) featuring Kurt Wagner’s original paintings used in Mr. M’s liner notes and a Lambchop coin purse while supplies last.

Visit the Merge blog to watch an album trailer for Mr. M, too!

 

 

Merge Records will release Lambchop‘s Mr. M on February 21.

It’s been nearly two decades since Lambchop released its first album, at the time pronouncing itself “Nashville’s most fucked-up country band.” Provocative it may have been, but the description made sense: at the heart of all that ruckus was a band at once defying and embracing the musical legacy of its hometown. Since then, Lambchop has evolved into an accomplished ensemble, adding palpable depth and substance to singer-songwriter-guitarist Kurt Wagner’s songs—and the band sounds as commanding as ever on its 11th album, Mr. M, a collection of meditations on love and loss and the detritus of everyday existence.

Recorded at Mark Nevers’s Nashville Beech House studio cum bungalow and dedicated to Vic Chesnutt, Mr. M includes the usual core of musicians- Scott Martin (drums), Matt Swanson (bass), Ryan Norris (guitar, organ), Tony Crow (piano), William Tyler (guitar) and guests include original co-founder Jonathan Marx, delightful Cortney Tidwell (who shared vocals on 2010’s KORT project) and fiddler Billy Contreras (who has worked with all from Charlie Louvin to Laura Cantrell) – and with spectacular string arrangements shared between Peter Stopschinski and Mason Neely, it stretches out sonically as promised. (Incidentally the paintings, thickly layered black and white portraits forming a series called Beautillion Millitaire 2000, feature on the album sleeve and throughout the full artwork).

The core of the music remains the cyclical picking of Wagner’s guitar and the soft, warm croaking of his voice. The songs are spacious, even dreamy, as on the Countrypolitan instrumental “Gar,” while the lyrics and titles are rich with allusions, some of them obvious, others seemingly unknowable.

Listen to the first track “If Not I’ll Just Die” and pre-order Mr. M on CD or LP now in the Merge store. While supplies last, preorders will include a poster (the first 150 of which will be signed!) featuring the album’s cover art, an original painting by Kurt Wagner.

Lambchop – “If Not I’ll Just Die” by Merge Records

Follow Lambchop on Twitter, Facebook and at their official website, Lambchop.net.

The 2nd annual Hopscotch Music Festival will take place September 8-10, 2011, in Raleigh, NC. Mark your calendars so you don’t miss out on these performances (updated with an appearance by Merge’s newest band, Hospitality!) :

Thursday, Sep. 8 @ 11 pm:
The Love Language – The Lincoln Theatre

Friday, Sep. 9 @ 12:30 am (Saturday morning):
Hospitality – The Union

Saturday, Sep. 10 @ 6:45 pm:
Superchunk – City Plaza w/ The Flaming Lips and Dreamers of the Ghetto [tickets]

Saturday, Sep. 10 @ 12:30 am (Sunday morning):
Times New Viking – The Union

Saturday, Sep. 10 @ 12:30 am (Sunday morning):
KORT (Kurt Wagner of Lambchop and Cortney Tidwell) – Kings Barcade

In addition, there will be a few FREE Merge-related daytime activities:

Friday, Sep. 9, 2-4 pm: Foundation will host a Wild Flag listening party. Come by for great music, drink specials, and door prizes.

Friday, Sep. 9, 3-5 pm: Stuart McLamb of The Love Language will participate in an artist-and-author discussion panel called “Simple Words: The Power of Narrative Songs” at the Raleigh City Museum. Seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis.

Saturday, Sep. 10, 11 am-5:30 pm: Hopscotch presents The Rosebuds & Friends, a block party outside the Lincoln Theatre. The seven-band lineup concludes with a performance by The Rosebuds at 4 pm. Food will be provided by Ashley Christensen and AC Restaurants, the proceeds from which will benefit the Frankie Lemmon Foundation.

And finally, SHOPscotch, a temporary pop-up store, will be open in Raleigh’s historic City Market every day during Hopscotch and on Sunday the 11th. This is the place to get Merge releases as well as records, t-shirts, and other merchandise from some of the festival’s participating bands. Business hours and more details can be found here.

Kurt Wagner of Lambchop will debut a collection of his work at Zeitgeist Gallery in Nashville, Tennessee, on Thursday, September 1. Kurt will perform at the opening reception of  “Beautillion Millitaire 2000, LBJ, Portraits and Commissions” from 6-8pm that evening, and the exhibit will run through October 22. Zeitgeist Gallery is located at 1819 21st Avenue South (in Hillsboro Village), Nashville, TN. You can read more about Kurt’s new collection, and that of Wayne White, at Zeitgeist-art.com.

Kurt Wagner holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in fine art from the Memphis Academy of Arts and Montana State University, respectively.

Visit the Merge Store for all your Lambchop needs.

It’s easy to miss out on some of the digital-only releases we throw your way—the Internet is a pretty crowded place these days! Here’s a quick summary of what you may have missed:

The limited-edition Destroyer 12-inch “Archer on the Beach” is out-of-print in the Merge store, but you can now buy the songs via digital download!

Don’t miss out on Swim Remixes—Caribou’s answer to what happens when you put one of the year’s hottest dance records in the hands of some of the world’s best DJs! With reworks of some of Swim’s hottest cuts by Junior Boys, Fuck Buttons, Nite Jewel, DJ Koze, Walls, Gold Panda, Gavin Russom, and more, Swim Remixes contains over an hour-and-a-half of new, fresh takes on Caribou’s latest opus.

Let’s Wrestle bring us a tasty piece of next year’s sophomore record with the “Getting Rest”/“When I Was In Hospital” digital single. Be warned: these young Londoners are not to be missed.

Shout Out Louds’ Fall Hard EP expands upon Work’s catchy first single with non-album cuts “Fall Hard Pt. 2” and “Can’t Explain.”

Lou Barlow + the missingmen’s = Sentridoh III is Lou’s first recorded output with new backing band the missingmen. Described by the band as “an almost live representation of the Lou Barlow + the missingmen live show,” this mini-album breathes new, rocking life into Sebadoh and Sentridoh classics, Lou’s solo material, and even a haunting cover of the timeless Skip James song “I’m So Glad.”

Tracey Thorn followed up this year’s gorgeous Love and Its Opposite with a pair of digital EPs, Why Does the Wind? and Opposites, that offer up wildly creative remixes of some of the album’s most-loved songs. Why Does the Wind? pairs the album track of the same name with remixes by Morgan Geist, Michel Clies, and André Lodemann, along with a radio edit and dub version. As for the Opposites EP, Tracey herself probably says it best: “If the remixes for the last single ‘Why Does the Wind?’ were aimed at the dancefloor, these are perhaps aimed more at the head.” Visionquest (“Swimming”), Walls (“Kentish Town”), and Blue Daisy (“Late in the Afternoon”) provide penetrating new takes presented alongside the originals.

Let’s also revisit Lambchop’s magnetic Live at XX Merge performance; Portastatic’s Make It Sound In Tune EP; digital reissues of Richard Buckner’s landmark albums Impasse, The Hill, and Bloomed; and The Ladybug Transistor’s fantastic Here Comes the Rain covers EP.

Our Holiday Coupon applies to digital releases, too, so download away!



Visit Pitchfork TV to watch the Lambchop concert film, Live at XX Merge in its entirety for one week only! The film and audio from this incredible event are available exclusively in the Merge store.

To help celebrate Merge’s 20th Anniversary Lambchop showed up in one of their largest lineups in recent memory — 11-strong, including multiple guitars, keyboards, piano, and a horn section. Lambchop performing live is always a powerful proposition, but on this night they started quietly with “I Will Drive Slowly” from their first album (I Hope You’re Sitting Down) and accelerated from there, each song seemingly faster and more intensely played than the last, building to a furious finale of “Up With People” and an epic “Give It.” By the end of their set, everyone in the packed Cats Cradle – band and audience both – was levitating a few inches off the ground…